The Asus ZenFone 5Z

The new Asus ZenFone 5Z is the flagship of the lineup. This is their pick of hte litter with the top end specs. Check out the press release below for more information.

The device comes in with the following specs:

6.2" 2280x1080

Snapdragon 845 octacore

6GB RAM

64GB storage + microSD

rear cameras (Sony IMX363, AI enhanced)

12MP (f/1.8, 80°, 1.4µm)

12MP (120°)

front camera

8MP (f/2.0, 84°)

3300mAh (AI charging)

Android 8

$499USD

That's right, a bit of a different ratio of 19:9 (so others are 18:9, Samsung is 18.5:9 and this is now 19:9 ... who's going to be 19.5?), but it's to really maximize out that bezel-less phone. That's a 90% screen to body ratio.

But, the interesting story here is that for just $500USD you're going to get an AI packed device. It has AI enhanced enchine for better photos and charging. This will include auto scene detection for portraits and beuatification as well as appropriate camera modes, as well as intelligence for things like ringer volume (i.e. it'll listen to how loud hte room is and adjust accordingly). Similar to Samsung going with the emoji AR, they'll be doing ZeniMoji as well.

My hope is that they've updated the UI somewhat... as I've always been left wanting in that department for the past few phones. Easy to replace the ZenUI with another launcher, but sitll....

All-screen display: Ultraslim-bezel, all-screen 6.2" display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio for a bigger and more immersive viewing experience in a compact 5.5"-class body

All-round intelligence: New convenience and communication features for display management, charging, ringtones and ZeniMoji live-animated avatars

Barcelona, Spain and Fremont, CA (February 27, 2018) — ASUS today announced the all-new ZenFone 5Z, an exciting next-generation high-performance 6.2-inch dual-camera smartphone that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI). The ZenFone 5Z delivers the ultimate smartphone performance at a very affordable price.
Equipped with the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 Mobile Platform with its smooth, responsive, power-efficient performance, the ZenFone 5Z includes a full suite of AI-enhanced features powered by the Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE). With 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, the ZenFone 5Z starts at just $499, and delivers the best available smartphone performance at an incredible value.
The ZenFone 5Z has an intelligent dual-camera system that adapts and learns, delivering perfect photos every time. With the latest flagship Sony® IMX363 sensor, a 120° wide-angle secondary camera and AI-enhanced camera features — including Auto Scene Detection, real-time portrait effects, AI Photo Learning and real-time beautification — the ZenFone 5Z encourages creativity and frees the user to concentrate on the subject rather than the camera.
Crafted to perfection with premium materials, the ZenFone 5Z has a strikingly beautiful ultraslim-bezel, all-screen design, featuring a stunning 6.2-inch display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio in an all-metal, glass-covered body that's as small and compact as most standard 5.5-inch phones.

Top Performance

The high-performance ZenFone 5Z is powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform with AIE, featuring a 3rd Generation AI platform that includes the Hexagon 685 Vector DSP, Adreno 630 Graphics, and Kryo 385 CPU. Combined with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, the ZenFone 5Z delivers accelerated AI experiences, as well as breathtaking performance combined with outstanding energy efficiency for long-lasting battery life.
For maximum on-the-go stamina, the ZenFone 5Z has a 3300mAh battery with ASUS BoostMaster fast-charge technology. The ZenFone 5Z also introduces AI Charging to maximize the battery lifespan and provide total protection. AI Charging dynamically adjusts the charging rate by monitoring the user’s charging habits, slowing down the battery's ageing process.
For maximum flexibility and superb call quality, the ZenFone 5Z supports dual 4G LTE SIMs with Dual SIM, Dual VoLTE (DSDV) capabilities. This allows both SIMs to be on active standby, and also supports enhanced HD voice calls over 4G LTE on both SIMs.

Intelligent Cameras

The intelligent dual-camera system in the ZenFone 5Z has an advanced hardware specification, featuring the flagship Sony® IMX363 image sensor with large 1.4µm pixels and a bright f/1.8 wide-aperture six-element lens that captures up to 5X-brighter and clearer photos in low-light conditions, as well as enabling dramatic Night HDR shots. The 120° wide-angle secondary camera has a field of view that’s wider than a standard smartphone camera, for capturing more expansive landscapes, more natural group shots, and easier photos in cramped spaces. The ZenFone 5Z can record video in stunning 4K UHD resolution, with smooth and steady videos assured by three-axis electronic image stabilization (EIS).
To provide near-instant focusing in any situation, the ZenFone 5Z has a dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) system that locks on the subject in just 0.03 seconds, and a four-axis optical image stabilization (OIS) system keeps the lens rock-steady for sharp, blur-free photos
For truly intelligent photography, the ZenFone 5Z is always evolving to constantly improve photos. The special AI-enhanced features in the ZenFone 5Z adapt and learn the more they are used, delivering perfect photos every time and creating a truly personal experience for the user.

AI Scene Detection: AI Scene Detection takes the guesswork out of photography. The ZenFone 5Z uses the power of AI to rapidly analyze the subject and match it to one of its 16 scene types, optimizing the camera settings for almost any kind of shot from sunsets to pet pics. The result is effortlessly perfect photos, anytime and anywhere. The ZenFone 5Z uses advanced big-data analysis to constantly enhance the scene-detection AI algorithms, for ever-smarter photography.

Real-time Portrait: The ZenFone 5Z lets users take professional-looking close-up shots of people or objects, without the hassle. Real-time Portrait with AI technology ensures that the main subject stays pin-sharp, while the background is given a sense of depth with a graduated bokeh effect — created using depth information intelligently analyzed from the subject — for a beautifully artistic photo. Real-time Portrait uses both cameras simultaneously to capture gorgeous portraits and close-ups that make the subject stand out with a real sense of depth, rivaling photos taken with high-end DSLR cameras.

Real-time Beautification: The ZenFone 5Z gives users their own personal beauty consultant in their pocket. AI Beautification intelligently reads 365 facial points and applies personalized beautification based on an analysis of over two million possible enhancements. It works in real time with any face — regardless of age, shape, skin tone or gender — and produces amazing natural-looking results. It works perfectly in live-streaming video, too.

Pro mode: ZenFone 5Z includes the powerful Pro mode that gives users full control of all the camera settings, including white balance, exposure, focus, ISO, and an impressive range of shutter speeds from 1/10000 to 32 seconds. With its support for unprocessed RAW files, the ZenFone 5Z is also the ideal choice for users who prefer to fine-tune their images using photo-editing software.

All-screen Display

By using an ultraslim-bezel, all-screen display, the 6.2-inch ZenFone 5Z is as small as most standard 5.5-inch phones. It’s the ultimate ergonomic design that not only lets users see more, but is much less bulky and is more comfortable to hold. The 6.2-inch Full HD+ all-screen display, with its 90% screen-to-body ratio and gorgeous 2.5D-curved glass, delivers a totally immersive visual experience. The ZenFone 5Z’s all-screen display also supports the DCI-P3 color space, with a wide color gamut that enhances color saturation for amazingly vivid image reproduction.
For optimized visuals with natural-looking colors and good readability in any environment, the ZenFone 5Z features intelligent display technology. This uses smart sensors to automatically adjust the display’s color temperature in real time according to the ambient lighting. It also features Smart Screen On, which prevents the screen from turning off when the user's face is detected, avoiding the problem of the screen turning off when the user is reading content for extended periods without touching the screen.

Immersive Audio

The ZenFone 5Z has two five-magnet stereo speakers that deliver deep, rich and expansive stereo sound. These are driven by dual smart amplifiers that ensure maximum volume while intelligently protecting them from damage. The ZenFone 5Z supports Hi-Res Audio files encoded at up to 24-bit/192KHz sample rates — 4X better than CD quality. For an enhanced listening experience right out of the box, the ZenFone 5Z is supplied with a set of premium earbuds. The ZenFone 5Z also supports DTS Headphone:X™ for 7.1-channel virtual surround-sound over headphones, for a truly immersive experience when watching movies or playing games.

All-round Intelligence

The ZenFone 5Z can be unlocked in just 0.1 seconds using face unlock, or 0.3 seconds using the rear fingerprint sensor, and the integrated NFC capability allows the ZenFone 5Z to be used securely with Google Pay™.
AI Ringtone intelligently adjusts the ringer volume according to the ambient noise level, so users won’t miss calls even on a busy street or in a noisy restaurant, and calls received in quieter environments won’t disturb users or their surroundings.
ZeniMoji is a fun new ZenFone 5 feature that lets users animate cute avatars using their own voice, facial expressions and head movements. Uniquely, ZeniMoji avatars can be used in video chats or live-streaming, as well as in text chats, to make them more entertaining.

¹ Specifications, content and product availability are all subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Actual performance may vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors. Full specifications are available at http://www.asus.com